The Ontarion - 193.4

OAC tugs tractors for a good cause

This year’s tractor tug exceeded their fundraising goal towards child mentorship programs

Community members representing the University of Guelph gathered along Reynolds walk on Nov. 1 for the annual campus Tractor Tug. With 20 tractor-tugging teams registered and lots of money raised for children in need, the event went off without a hitch.

The Tractor Tug is a charity event run every fall by the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) since 2006. Groups of eight to ten pay to participate and compete against other teams by pulling tractors with a rope towards a finish line. This year, money raised by the event went towards Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Guelph, consequently naming the event Tractor Tug for Tots.

Big Brothers, Big Sisters is a national organization that provides life-changing mentorship experiences, according to their

website, and has been doing so since 1968. The Guelph branch has reportedly impacted more than 600 youth.

“Many children and youth in Guelph struggle with societal barriers and face adversities in their lives like detrimental living conditions, family violence, risk factors for mental health, school issues and identity challenges,” reads their solution statement.

“These circumstances have nothing to do with the value of who they are or who they can become, but because of these situations, children and youth risk not having the opportunity to live up to their full potential … With the guidance and support of a mentor, these risks can be reduced or even avoided, and youth are reminded they can be anything they dream of being.”

To raise money for the or-

ganization, the team registration fee for the Tractor Tug cost $200, although groups were encouraged to raise extra money if possible. Teams this year were composed of current U of G students, alumnus, and even executives from deans offices.

“The [OAC] executive body as a whole has a say on the organization we decide to support. Because Big Brothers Big Sisters Guelph focuses primarily on youth and the next generation, we were drawn,” said Tractor Tug Committee Chair Rachel Chater to The Ontarion. “Each year we try to share the ‘love’ with all organizations within the Guelph area and try not to repeat organizations relatively close together.”

While the OAC were aiming for a goal of $12,000, an article by CTV News reports that the Tug for Tots raised nearly $14,000.

“Any little bit helps,” said Taylor Brick from Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Guelph to CTV News. “We do a couple of fundraising events that we put on as an agency throughout the year but all of these third party fundraising events–they definitely go a long way.”

After a long morning of tractor pulling–with each group competing at least twice throughout the morning and afternoon–The Ontario Imports team took home the Tots Trophy. They also set the record of the day with a pull of 23.48 seconds.

“[It] feels great. We’ve been pulling since 9:30 this morning. Some heavy pulls. It’s been a long day but we did it,” said Jack Geikie, one of the winners, to CTV News. Another member of Ontario Imports joked that they needed to go to bed and get a massage af-

ter all of the tugging.

While it took a lot of strength and teamwork, the group told CTV News that it was all worth it since for a good cause.

“We could not be happier with the success of the event. The external response from sponsors and the general community was more than it has ever been in the past, which we strive to have as it brings such good awareness to the OAC community,” said Chater.

“The tireless efforts to make this event a success this year really showed. [The organizers] all did amazing jobs in their roles on the executive and without each of them it wouldn't have been possible.”

If you’d like to support Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Guelph, you can visit their website at guelph.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca to donate, volunteer, or subscribe to their newsletter.

Campus restaurant serves up good eats and valuable experiences

Located in the Macdonald-Stewart Hall on north campus, PJ’s Restaurant in the Atrium, (PJ’s) is a short walk from any main campus building, and is open during lunch hours.

Named one of the greenest restaurants in Canada by LEAF, an organization that specializes in environmentally accountable foodservice, PJ’s operates with a focus on sustainability, as well as being environmentally conscious when preparing their food and serving their guests. PJ’s is a themed restaurant that is a project of the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, and I was lucky enough to be able to dine there on Oct. 27.

Being student run, PJ’s is more than just a restaurant. It is

a space that provides students the opportunity to gain experiential learning in a uniquely integrated way. Students have complete control over the menu and presentation of the restaurant, which allows for a creativity and freedom that is seldom experienced in other kitchens and learning environments.

As well, any money made from the restaurant is allocated back into the program fund, which allows for PJ’s to continue providing opportunities for students to participate in the university’s sustainable restaurant project.

I was able to speak with Mya Citringo, a student taking part in the PJ’s restaurant project this semester, and discuss her experienc-

es with PJ’s.

I asked Mya what three things she would like to tell the average student about PJs if they were unfamiliar. Mya explained that PJ’s consists of mostly nutrition students, and PJs is a restaurant operations course, meaning that these students had the unique ability to learn in an otherwise unavailable setting: the restaurant.

She said that the students taking part in PJ’s have genuine agency in their work, from getting to decide the menu to the choice of presentation and theme of the restaurant. Mya also said that PJ’s operates as a learning space for the students to practice skills as well as develop a more diverse set of learning capabilities.

PJ’s is not only a restaurant with food that is high quality, sustainable, and accessible. It is a place that affords nutrition and hospitality students the opportunity to develop their skills as students, but also as people who care and want to brighten others’ days.

My meal at PJ’s was enjoyable, but not only because of the food. It was enjoyable because I

felt genuine happiness and commitment to my having the best possible experience from the students who were running the restaurant. I would highly recommend paying a visit to PJ’s, and not only for the food, but for those who make it.

To book yourself a table, you can go to their Instagram @pjs_ restaurant.

PJ’s Restaurant in the Atrium delivers a unique hands-on experience for students in the school of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management

New arts magazine hosts Halloween concert and market at U of G

As a diverse and new Guelph-based collective, the staff from Exhibitionist Magazine were eager to spotlight art and culture and support local initiatives. This past October offered a great opportunity to do just that. With a myriad of musical talent, unique vendors, and vibrant community members, Exhibitionist Magazine launched its Halloween Concert and Market event right here at the University of Guelph.

The event took place in Peter Clark Hall (PCH) on Oct. 27, and other organizations that helped support the concert and market included the Ontario Public Interest Research Group, the Central Student Association, and the Outdoors Club. All proceeds from their pay-what-you-can entry fee went towards either the Guelph Student FoodBank or fundraising for the magazine.

The Exhibitionist officially started in late August of this year following an Instagram post from the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Zo Ross, who wrote "Guelph needs a new art and culture publication. Let's make one."

Ross told The Ontarion that they wanted to lift up the incredible art and culture scene and talented artists of Guelph, and the idea was quickly met with support.

“Art, music, and culture can all create bonds that break down barriers,” said Ross.

“For a long time there has been an invisible barrier between campus and the wider Guelph community that prevents a fulsome exchange of art and culture. The City of Guelph has long wanted students to encourage more students to live here after they graduate and to create a deeper sense of pride in the community for off-campus students”

As such, the Halloween Concert and Market was a chance to bring the Guelph and U of G community together and celebrate some of its bands and artisans. And so, the Exhibitionist welcomed local artists Kat Steeves, Kale, Megan Arnold, and Not a Band with Bodice as a headline to the event. With guitar-heavy punk songs to rock out to and electronic existentialism to vibe to, each artist’s performance fit the spooky fun theme of the event perfectly.

While attendees sat or danced near the stage, the other half of PCH was reserved for the market. Vendors offered a variety of artistic and macabre goods, including bug-eyed plushies, glasswork crafts, graphic prints, tarot readings, and plenty more. Just some of the participating businesses and artists included Dead Things Boutique, Too Old Too Cold Oddities, Liam Reynolds, Soft Squad, Hooper Housewares, and FutureProof Visuals.

At one of the booths, self-published author and Exhibitionsit writer Tristan Dineen was selling signed copies of his Falhorne series, a dark fantasy about facing the past and conquering evil. Dineen also ran twice as candidate for Guelph’s communist party–once in 2015 and again in 2021–and advocates for expanded health services, Indigenous sovereignty, and general human need, according to GuelphToday.

“I was [a University of Guelph student] but it wasn’t when I was in university that I started writing,” said Dineen to The Ontarion. “I was actually working overseas, doing an ESL job in China, and nobody was coming to office hours.”

To fill in the extra time and keep himself sane from boredom, Dineen came up with the prologue to Falhorne: The World is Burning back in 2016.

“You got to be in the right place at the right time. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing and I didn’t have a process, and I do now but that was after years.”

With two books released for the Falhorne series, Dineen now attends the occasional book bash and vendor market, not limiting himself from signing book copies at events hosted by the very magazine he now writes for.

To truly get into the spirit of Halloween, the Exhibitionist also hosted a costume contest. Wandering between the performance stage and market were not only a handful of uncostumed Guelphites, but

also Waldo, Wednesday Addams, Thomas the Tank Engine, a literal tech wizard, and lots of witches and pirates.

Digital designer Bobby Raffin won the Best Costume award, receiving a PS5 and a disc version of Horizon: Forbidden West. The Exhibitionist also gave away the new self-titled Bodice EP, one decorative cat skull from Dead Things Boutique, a U of G honey bee necklace from Too Old Too Cold Oddities, a t-shirt from Kat Steeves, and a CD from Meghan Arnold to the runner up.

Ross said that while they would have loved to see more folks in attendance, they’re sure that their events and the magazine will continue to grow.

“We are so thrilled that those who could come out did so. We had people from campus and the community in attendance,” they said. “Many of our team members are undergraduate students, grad students, or recent alumni. We are also proud to have U

of G Professor, Dr. Ruth Neustifter on the team as a columnist.”

The Exhibitionist plans on hosting a similar event during the upcoming semester and will be led by the U of G chapter of the magazine as Ross plans to have it become a registered club on campus.

Those interested in getting involved with Exhibitionist Magazine or sharing their art and events to the broader Guelph public can reach out to their Instgram at exhibitionistmagazine or email them at hello@exhibitionistmagazine.com.

To support the local arts scene, Exhibitionist Magazine invited the Guelph and university community to costume up and enjoy artisan goods and music

Remembering BIPOC soldiers and their contributions on Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day in Guelph

The University of Guelph’s annual remembrance service, which took place on the morning of Nov. 11, was well attended by students and faculty members, as well as members of the public.

After a short ceremony at Branion Plaza, those in attendance formed a community walk to War Memorial Hall where wreaths

were laid, a local choir sang and there was a moment of silence.

While such services seek to acknowledge all those who fought and lost their lives, members of Black and Indigenous communities still often remain forgotten. This article hopes to bring to light just some of their contributions during the wars.

Indigenous Veterans Day

Indigenous Veterans Day was held on Nov. 8 and was marked at the University of Guelph for the first time this year. This comes after the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation took place on Sept 30. A short ceremony was held that included the lowering of the Canadian flag, and Dr. Cara Wehkamp spoke during the 15-minute event. Wehkamp is a special advisor to the Provost at the University of Guelph on Aboriginal Initiatives, and her work is focused on accessibility and support for indigenous students in higher education.

Thousands of the Indigenous soldiers that lost their lives have unmarked graves and their contributions to their country are not recognized. The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte work to change this by identifying those that served so that they can be honored. They work with a national group that is working to change the narrative surrounding Remembrance Day to ensure that the contribution of Indigenous soldiers is recognized properly.

During WWI, Indigenous soldiers could be drafted for service yet did not have the right to vote. The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte are working to identify those that served and provide them with a headstone that properly recognizes their service to the crown.

Black Guelph soldiers who fought in WWI

Several soldiers who were born and resided in Guelph were part of the Number Two Construction Battalion, also known as the Black Battalion. This is the first and only unit in Canadian military history entirely comprised of black soldiers.

It was formed in 1916, after several years of protest from black men that wanted to join the fight and yet were continually rejected due to their race. Finally, the Canadian government removed this divide and formally allowed black soldiers to enlist.

Henry Francis Courtney was born in 1886, Courtney joined just weeks after the Canadian government’s decision after sev-

eral previously failed attempts. The editor of the Canadian Observer wrote about the decision and included a slip that volunteers had to return. Courtney wrote to this editor about enlisting and following in the footsteps of his brother who had managed to join.

This was published in the Observer with the headline ‘HF Courtney Loyal to his Country. Brother Training. Wants to do his bit.’ Both Courtney and his brother served in France and both survived the war. Courtney passed away in 1947, aged 57.

Victor Goines also enlisted in the Number Two Battalion. Goines was born in Guelph in 1893, and his grandparents came to Wellington County after escaping slavery in Maryland. Goines also served in France as part of the reorganized Number Two into the Number Two Construction Unit.

Although a lot of the men part of this unit were eager to fight, they never saw the frontlines and remained unarmed. Instead, they worked as laborers cutting trees, loading trains, and mending roads. Victor was discharged in 1919 and noted to have had very good conduct and character. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals. Victor Goines died at age 65.

These soldiers, as well as many more, tell the story of a war fought both at home and abroad. They are an important part of Guelph’s role in the war.

Feminist Vendor Market coming to the UC

Celebrate the end of exams and the start of the holiday season by attending the Feminist Holiday Market

The University of Guelph has made it even easier to support local artists, celebrate inclusion and shop for the holidays through a unique event on campus.

On Dec. 17, from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., check out Peter Clark Hall in the basement of the University Centre to see and support amazing artisans at the Feminist Holiday Market.

The Feminist Holiday Market is an event that takes time and effort to celebrate queer people of colour, women, and marginalized groups. Its goal is to provide a dedicated space for accessibility, inclusion and opportunity.

bled to be able to create spaces like this, spaces a queer disabled person of colour like myself could have only wished existed when I was younger.],” Blanco said. “I am so happy to be able to create spaces where people feel comfortable to connect, see representation and are able to support marginalized folks.”

Vendors are equally as excited to be able to attend this event and participate in this community.

“Wannabe Artist Girl” is a local art outlet run by Meg Terry that consists of quirky, different bits and pieces including handwrapped wire gemstone jewelry, paint designs on thrifted sweaters and tie-dye tote bags out of thrifted clothes. During the holiday season, Terry is now also expanding into traditional art such as hand-painted Christmas cards and paintings.

Siyobin Blanco, the creator of the Feminist Holiday Market, is a community organizer, accessibility advisor, reiki master, activist and an award-winning dancer. Her idea to host an inclusive and diverse market came from her desire to fill the gap where representation, accessibility and support of artisans were lacking in previous vendor markets she attended.

She ran her first Feminist Holiday Market in 2017 and it has only grown since then.

Blanco aims to have as diverse a representation as possible and to showcase established vendors, as well as new or first-time vendors and community organizations. As such, there will be a wide variety of vendors selling everything from crocheted products and jewelry items to body products and more.

Some notable vendors to check out this year are ART NOT SHAME, Otsí:tsi’designs, Annie Burgess Pottery, Lived Collective, The SEED, SHYNE Body Butter and many others.

“I am so honoured and hum-

“I spend a lot of time doing markets and community events but this is one of the first opportunities I’ve had to participate in a dedicated feminist event which is something I really stand for,” said Terry.

“I lean into a relationship with nature and the world around us and I think a big part of that comes from everyone being equal. So being a part of something that stands for equality and inclusion is very exciting.”

Be sure to check out @wannabeartistgirl to see Terry’s wonderful creations and @feministevents for event updates, information on vendors, and more!

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to support your local community members, shop intentionally, and see some of the amazing feminist talent Guelph has to offer.

Fair November comes back to U of G Campus

The 48th Fair November with more that 80 artisans from all over Canada was back in person after hosting virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic

The University of Guelph has been hosting Fair November for 48 years. It is a fair where Canadian artists show and sell their intricately crafted art, from mesmerizing pottery to breathtaking handcrafted jewelry to the delicious delicacies made by the recipes that have been passed down generations and have been perfected by talented artisans.

We had the opportunity to talk to and interact with some amazing artists and businesses who shared stories about their journeys with us and how their businesses came into being.

Ever heard of someone who can capture the most beautiful of landscape views inside a glass? Julia Spittel, a Glassmaker from Aurora can do it. Professionally she is a jeweler, but she is an artist who can capture the sunset inside the glass pendant of a necklace.

Her Jewelry has the power to talk to you and according to her, the glass chooses the owner and compliments their features in the best way possible. The brand, ‘Landscape Glass’ offers a variety of jewelry made by Spittel, like earrings, brooches and necklaces.

Most of the glass that she uses for her jewelry is made by herself. She also likes to make, what she calls ‘flowerpot glass’, in which she essentially puts glass in a flowerpot and puts it in a saucer and heats it in a potter’s kiln until the glass drips into the saucer and gives the most beautiful designs that she uses as the base for constructing her jewelry. She told us that her inspiration comes entirely from nature and landscapes.

Everyone's pottery is fired twice, but

times puts her film imagery on her pottery too. The support from the community keeps her inspired to keep throwing and creating these beautiful mugs with history etched on them.

From Sauble Beach, Yvonne Davis and her two sisters own and operate the Bruce County Nut and Fudge. All of their products are handmade, including their roasted nuts, handmade fudge and a variety of gourmet caramel Belgian chocolate apples.. The recipes have been passed down generations in their family and the three sisters took it upon themselves to make a brand out of these amazing recipes.

Bunny's pottery is fired thrice. Bunny Safari, a University of Guelph Alumna, has been making unique pots with vintage and new, detailed maps of Guelph etched on them. For the newbies in Guelph, she has made beautiful mugs with a complete map of the city etched on them with her very own hands. She even does film photography and some-

Paul Mawyin was at the fair with his wife's amazing cookie and tart boxes and a story to share. Carla's Cookie Boxes is an online bakery which sells handmade, artisanal butter tarts made by Carla herself.

The first time Carla ever made butter tarts was when her son asked if she could buy him some and she researched about them and gave it a go. And now, here they are, at the University of Guelph Fair November, offering ten different flavours of delicious butter tarts and bringing smiles to people's faces.

This is just a peek into Fair November, where more than 80 artists have displayed their remarkable and unique arts and crafts styles from handcrafted pens made out of wood by Kora-Bora creations to the botanicals crafted by the Wild Muskoka botanicals, all the way from Muskoka.

While this is just a small fraction of the incredible artists that Fair November had to offer, the Fair amassed great success. Many shopped locally and supported small businesses and that is exactly what Fair November is all about.

“An immense pleasure to read ... The love of invertebrates and the complexity of human behaviour are beautifully married in this imaginative thriller ... The invertebrates are truly fantastic. The murders are clever and gruesome ... A riveting novel that is difficult to put down ... I thoroughly enjoyed it”

The December holiday breakdown

Your guide to the most wonderful time of the year

The holidays are here! For many that means Christmas trees, presents and old Saint Nick. However, there are a plethora of holidays that take place in December that you might not know about and might even want to celebrate!

Historically, the middle of winter was when the world celebrated the winter solstice, around December 21. This time meant the worst of winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days with more sunlight. Now we have holidays that gather us together and make the cold a little more bearable. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most popular December holidays that are sure to warm your heart.

Christmas – December 25, 2022, or January 7, 2023 Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, the spiritual leader of Christianity. The name comes from “Cristes maesse”, which means “Christ’s mass” in Old English. Christmas can also be a time to gather with family or friends for those who are not religious. The date December 25 was chosen by Pope Julius I to coincide with the winter solstice, while Eastern Orthodox faiths observe the holiday on January 7. Before Christmas on December 6, Saint Nicolas Day is celebrated with gifts left inside children’s shoes.

How to be festive:

• Gifts from Secret Santa gift exchanges or from Santa himself, who is said to come on Christmas Eve and leave gifts under the Christmas tree

• Watching Christmas movies such as Elf or Home Alone

• Singing carols like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

• Decorating a Christmas tree or Christmas cookies

• Going to religious celebrations such as Midnight Mass

Las Posadas – December 16 - 24, 2022

In the Latin American community, Las Posadas (“The Inns”) is a nine-day religious festival that commemorates the journey Joseph and Mary made from Nazareth to Bethlehem to give birth to the baby Jesus. Families re-enact Mary and Joseph’s nine-day journey to Bethlehem and their search for shelter in a posada, or inn. The holiday ends on Christmas Eve, when Jesus was born, and Christmas festivities begin.

How to be festive:

• Breaking open piñatas filled with candy, toys, and money

• Reading passages of scripture and singing Christmas carols

• Decorating with poinsettias, whose nine leaves represent the nine-day journey

• Enjoying Latino dishes such as bacalao biscayne

Hanukkah – December 1826, 2022

Also spelled Chanukah, which means “dedication” in Hebrew, Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple after the Jewish people reclaimed it from the Syrian Greeks. The Jewish faith was banned entirely until the Maccabees liberated the temple, winning Jewish people the right to practice their religion. After, the Jews used one day’s supply of oil to provide light, but miraculously, the oil burned for eight days. Now, Hanukkah is a festival of lights where the menorah is lit for an eight-day celebration. Hanukkah also coincides with the winter solstice to celebrate light in the darkest of winter.

How to be festive:

• Playing dreidel, a spinning top game with Hebrew words that determine how many gelt coins you receive

• Lighting a menorah, usually in front of a window

• Eating fried foods such as potato latkes and sufganiyot to celebrate the oil burned

• Singing celebratory songs and exchanging gifts with loved ones

• Observing Hanukkah at a temple

Kwanzaa – December 26, 2022 - January 1, 2023 Kwanzaa, derived from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza

meaning "first fruits," celebrates African family, community, and culture each year. The first Kwanzaa was celebrated in 1966-1967 after race riots in the Watts area of Los Angeles in 1965. The seven-day celebration, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, celebrates the seven values or nguzo saba: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). Kwanzaa spread to Canada by 1993 and can be celebrated alongside other winter holidays such as Christmas.

How to be festive:

• Capturing mambo yote mazuri, or “all things beautiful” by making memories with your loved ones

• Decorating your home with a mkeka (a woven mat) and fruits and vegetables

• Lighting the kinara, a special candle holder with room for seven candles

• Giving sentimental gifts, often with meaning behind them

• Honouring African culture with traditional recipes like jerk chicken and Jollof rice

New Year

The New Year rings in a fresh start in our lives with unique cultural traditions. Here are some of them:

• Americans watch the ball

drop in Times Square

• The Spanish eat 12 grapes to symbolize each strike of the clock at midnight

• Haitians celebrate the New Year and Haitian Independence Day by eating pumpkin soup because it was a delicacy that enslaved Black people were not allowed to have

• Romanians sing the Sorcova with a decorated twig used as a magic wand to transmit health and youth

New Year’s is especially important in Asian cultures. In Japan, their New Year’s is called Omisoka, which entails a deep cleaning of the home and kadomatsu decorations using pines. The Chinese New Year, which occurs in January, has celebrations with fireworks, red clothes and decorations. Also, young people are given money in red envelopes.

Not Celebrating

It’s also okay to not celebrate the holidays! Take the winter break as a time to relax and see some friends. There are many great ways to celebrate the season, such as ice skating, building a snowman, or making a warm cup of hot chocolate.

However you choose to enjoy the holidays, the winter season has something for everyone. Even if you just want to stay home and watch the snow fall with your dog.

5 affordable holiday activities to enjoy this season

A

s the holidays loom just around the corner, your stress levels may be running high as you try to organize just how you will spend your winter break. It’s the busiest time of year and alongside getting your plans in order, you may also have exams to study for, gifts to buy, family and friends to visit as well as everything else you usually must handle in your everyday life.

Before the chaos gets to become too much, remember why you put yourself through that stress. You get to spend a little time with all the people you love and celebrate with each other.

After all the chaos juggling and gift buying, it can get expensive and time-consuming to plan activities to do with your friends and family. If your pockets are feeling the pinch this holiday season, try out some of these cheap winter activities to get yourself in the spirit of winter.

Slumber Party

The winter holidays are not all about the gifts that money can buy-- they’re about the time spent with people we love. Gather a few of your friends and plan an all-out sleepover.

Go the full mile and pull your mattress and blankets off your bed to put in the living room. Cuddle up together wearing matching PJ’s and a warm mug of hot chocolate to watch your favourite holiday movie.

This is the perfect activity to wind down after exams and fully get into the holiday spirit. The best part? It’s completely free!

Light Tour

The winter months can get a little

dreary while waiting for the first snowfall to truly stick. The leaves have fallen off and the ground is mucky. Lighten up your mood by heading out onto the town for a tour of the Christmas lights around the city.

There are many downloadable maps of Guelph out there that highlight areas with Christmas light displays. Open one up and hit the streets for a colourful night of awe and laughter.

Don’t have access to a car in the city? Don’t fret! Take a walk around your neighborhood and find the displays nearest to you. Make it a game and vote on which display you and your friends think is best!

Baking

Another typical holiday activity is baking, but there’s a reason it’s so typical; it never fails to be enjoyable! Every holiday event deserves to be enhanced with some homemade baking, so make baking a whole event too.

Don’t be afraid to be daring and pick a recipe you think seems impossible, and with a few of your friends attempt to recreate it! Whether you fail or succeed, the time you spend arguing over how much flour to put in will be cherished.

To make this option even cheaper, split the cost of the ingredients.

Skating, Sledding

Winter sports can get expensive when it comes to having all the required equipment involved. That’s why skating and tobogganing are some of the best winter activities!

Every year the Municipality of Guelph creates an ice rink downtown in the Market Square. It is free to use so bring your partner, your best friend, your sibling and do some laps on the rink.

Not used to balancing on skates just yet? No worries! Grab your toboggan and head over to the Mole Hill in Centennial Park to plummet down the snow hill. Remember to always be aware of your surroundings, and don’t forget your snow pants!

See a Christmas Choir Christmas carols are nostalgic and always bring back some of that childhood holiday magic. That’s why this holiday season, go out and sing with your loved ones.

The few days leading up to Christmas, many churches put on carol nights where you can go and see a Christmas choir for free. Bring a few of your friends and sing your hearts out to the songs you used to adore as a child. Remember what Buddy the Elf said? Singing spreads the Christmas spirit.

The holiday season can be a very expensive time for many so it’s important to remember the connections we make with people are the most valuable part of life. Whether you’re lounging around watching holiday movies or flying to the Caribbean for this winter holiday, the people you do those things with are what make those experiences special. Don’t run yourself thin trying to impress your loved ones with extravagant, costly items; focus on the support and care you can offer instead.

VOLUNTEER FOR OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Top 10 Holiday Movies

ty and the holiday spirit.

4. The Nightmare Before Christmas

away. It’s a funny, sweet, classic holiday movie that is so iconic for the holiday season.

1. Elf

Because

we couldn’t let the season pass without telling you our favourites

The holiday season is coming around soon, and it’s easily one of the busiest and craziest times of the year. It can sometimes be stressful with all the preparations and presents to buy. Sometimes, we just need to relax during this crazy time of the year by doing something relaxing.

Whether it’s putting on an iconic seasonal song like “All I Want For Christmas is You,” or going out for a walk on a snowy day, or putting on one of your favourite holiday movies with a nice cup of hot chocolate.

However, there are so many holiday movies out there, you don’t have the time to put on all of them. Lucky for you, I’ve come up with a list of my top 10 holiday movies so you have some priorities in case you can’t watch them all during the holiday season.

ly yet It’s a holiday movie that’s definitely worth the watch for a heartwarming family movie.

9. The Polar Express

“The Polar Express” is a classic holiday movie that is quite beloved by many. It’s a sweet children’s movie about a boy who goes on a train to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. It’s just such a timeless movie that is something to watch during the holiday season for nostalgia or for a sweet, little movie to spend your time on a winter night.

8. Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer

Now, this is an all time classic little movie that’s just so special to watch (or rewatch for many). It’s special for so many to watch, due to the song that the movie is based off of, and for its heartwarming message about being yourself. I love how it’s about accepting yourself even when it’s difficult to fit in with the others.

It holds such a deep meaning for a cute, little holiday movie.

7. A Bad Moms Christmas

6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Now, there are many different variants of this movie, but the one I’m referring to is the 2000 version. It’s the one I grew up watching every year with my family. Jim Carrey is the one who plays the Grinch, and he plays the character quite wildly, for sure. The Grinch decides to steal Christmas by taking everyone’s gifts during the night on Christmas Eve since he hates the holiday, but he soon learns Christmas is more than gifts. This is a must watch if you want your heart to grow three sizes.

In the last few years, I’ve noticed many people feeling like they need to decide whether Halloween or Christmas is the better holiday, but why not both? This movie is a classic since it is one to watch during both times of the year. It’s about a skeleton who lives in a Halloween world, but he finds there are different worlds for all holidays, and he finds a Christmas world, where he wants to join that holiday too. A classic movie that will always be iconic.

“Elf” is my favourite holiday movie ever. It’s just so funny, so silly, so sweet, so heartwarming. Everything that’s important to remember during the holiday season. An elf named Buddy finds out he’s actually human, after thinking he’s an elf most of his life. He joins the human world to meet his biological dad all those years later, and they have a rough start at first, since his dad never knew of his existence up until then, but they start to get along, and it’s just such a sweet movie to watch during the holiday season. 10/10, would highly recommend it.

10. Happiest Season

“Happiest Season” is a super cute holiday movie about the importance of family, friends and a special someone all being able to get along during the holidays. The movie follows partners Harper and Abby. Harper takes Abby with her to meet her parents for Christmas. However, Harper hasn’t come out to her fami-

“A Bad Moms Christmas” is a very funny Christmas movie about the difficulty of everyone getting along during the holiday season. The movie follows three mothers trying to make the perfect Christmas for their families while their own mothers come home for the holidays. All three of their mothers are quite interesting characters, to say the least. It’s just a hilarious movie to lighten the mood whenever that time of year becomes too much to handle at times.

5. The Muppet Christmas Carol

Yes, Muppets. I’m serious. This is a rendition of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, but with Muppets. I watched it every year with my family during the holiday season, so maybe that’s why I have a special connection to it over the original, but it is actually such a cute version of it. Where a grumpy man named Ebenezer Scrooge has different ghosts from past, present and future teach him a lesson about the importance of getting along with your communi-

3. Little Women

“Little Women” is such a good movie. Based on the book by Louisa May Alcott, it’s a really nice winter movie. It’s not technically a holiday movie, but it’s winter-themed, so that definitely counts. It’s a drama about four sisters all growing up in the 19th century, dealing with young womanhood. There’s romance, heartbreak, and becoming a writer. I would highly recommend it if you're sick of all the holiday movies during the holiday season, and you just want something wintery instead.

2. Home Alone

“Home Alone” is easily one of the most recognizable holiday movies of all time. It’s such a heartwarming movie. A large family goes on vacation during the holidays, but they manage to lose one of the family members, a boy named Kevin. He is stuck all alone at home, which he finds fun at first, but then robbers come to his wealthy-looking house, and he must defend it while his family is

So there you have it, my ranking of my top 10 holiday movies. It’s always fun to watch movies as a tradition during the holiday season. So, if you’re looking for some top options to watch, here are mine.

Technically RENT isn’t a Christmas movie, but a majority of it takes place during the holidays. It’s a tale of New York during the height of the AIDS epidemic and takes on hard hitting themes like addiction. If you’re in the mood for great music and a story that will shake you to your core, definitely give RENT a watch this holiday season.

Q & A with Hope House director Jaya James

We spoke with Jaya James ahead of the holiday season to learn more about how Hope House helps marginalized community members

What does Hope House do? How long has it been around?

Hope House was founded in 2012 and we just celebrated our 10th birthday—we like to use the term birthday because we’re a community organization—on September the 8th. We’re a poverty relief organization in Guelph that believes the opposite of poverty is community. We didn’t create that term, it’s a ‘Gabor Maté term’ who’s our preeminent addcitions physician in Canada, and he’s done a lot of research on the importance of meeting people's needs within the community as a way of helping them heal from the pain they’ve experienced and that’s what our program is developed around.

We look at poverty from five different components. The physical pieces of poverty would be those physical needs like food, shelter, and clothing. The spiritual piece of poverty, which each person can define in their own way, but we say it's important to have purpose and meaning in your life. We look at emotional poverty which is the ability to regulate your emotions and express your emotions in a way that people are able to receive them. There’s also relational poverty; do you have a strong network of people in your life, cheering you on and that want to see you succeed? And then lastly we look at financial poverty which is not having enough financial resources. And a person can be weak in one of these areas but the challenge is when they’re weak in multiple areas and that’s when ongoing issues and generational poverty can arise.

Why is hope house important for marginalized communi-

ties and people living in poverty?

It's important to have places in the community where people belong, and one of the realities that we have in our society is that we've kind of created all these different spots, and people only belong to certain spots. For example, if you're at the mall, they don't want people just hanging around. Or other spots you have to have a membership to get in, and there are very few places that if you do not have a lot of financial resources, or if you're struggling with regulating your emotions, or you don't have a lot of connections, you can just go and be. And so one of the important things Hope House provides to communities is a spot where people can be present and can get to build relationships with other people, develop new skills, and we do this as much as possible, to the best of our abilities and in a dignified approach.

to move forward on the specific path that they choose. Our role is supporting people and overcoming those hurdles and barriers so they can live the life that they want to live.

What is hope house doing during the winter to help marginalized communities?

One of the things we’re doing this winter is our Clothing Market and we focus on making sure that the clothing available is seasonally appropriate. We're doing coat drives, socks, shoes and boots and really just making sure we have the right clothing available so people can stay warm.

that the ability to select a gift for someone makes the difference between people attending functions versus staying at home by themselves, and this gives back the ability for people to participate in holiday celebrations.

We also make sure to always have a breakfast available, Monday to Thursday and that is served inside along with some hot coffee and tea. It provides a warm place for people to sit between 8:30 am and 4pm, and connects them to other resources to make sure that the winter season goes very well for them.

How can people who want to help get involved?

We allow the individual to make the next decisions on how to proceed forward. But recognising that for people to proceed forward, you need to support them in overcoming barriers in their life. In our society here in Canada, there’s usually a fairly complex system with many different layers that people have to go through to access a number of things. Those layers will be barriers for people who want

Another thing we do is our Affordable Gift Market that runs from December 12th to 22nd and it’s focused on giving people the opportunity to select gifts for their family and friends so that when they're going to events or family functions, there's something they're bringing that they chose themselves. The basis of the Affordable Gift Market is that you pay what you can. If you can't pay anything, you don't pay anything and if you can pay a little bit, you pay a little bit–you decide what that is. What we’ve really discovered is

There are a number of ways to get involved and I would say one, take care of your family and friends. Most people prefer to get support from their family and friends rather than having to go to an organization. So just be aware of what's going on in their lives and be supportive to them. And if their needs are greater than what you can do, support them in visiting Hope House so that they can access resources and feel comfortable and confident in doing that.

There's always a chance to volunteer. The pandemic was

really hard on volunteers and we recognise that but there is a real need for volunteers. Volunteer shifts are usually about 3.5 hours in the morning or afternoon, and we even have a short shift on Thursdays from 4pm to 6pm, and there are lots of different areas you can be involved in. Then if possible, give in some way. So if you had a really great winter coat but now you've got this brand new one, you could wash up the old one and drop it off. Or someone can help by giving a little bit of money, or going shopping for some hygiene products, or getting a gift for our Affordable Gift Market and the gift can be $20 to $25, so nothing huge; people are just looking for something to bring to family functions so that they feel like they're participating.

Those are the ways you can help out: take care of the people in your life, give of your time or give of your resources.

Is there an item that is over-given or under-given?

Oh, that's a great question. I would say an item that can be over given is out of season clothing. So in the wintertime, people are clearing out their summer stuff but we’re an organization the size of Hope House, and we

don’t have storage!* But there are some great places that can accept those resources that are not in season like Goodwill, The Mission Thrift Store and The Salvation Army.

For under given items, these would be under given because they are just high volume needs. On the hygiene side that would be menstrual pads, baby diapers sizes 4-6 so the larger sizes that the kids stay in for longer. Dish soap, laundry soap and deodorant. Those I would say would be the ones that are under given on that side. And then on the food side, I would say because we are in a community becoming more diverse in multiple ways, we’re becoming more diverse in dietary needs. So whether people have allergens or special dietary needs due to things like hypertension or diabetes, or cultural needs. Those items targeted at those specific groups are under given.

What would you say are the do’s and don’ts for gifting or donating to organizations during Christmas?

Well, I think whatever organization you want to give to, it’s always good to give them a call and see what their needs are. They'll usually give you that idea or an answer. It's really good to check in and I think when you're giving to an organization, it should be something you're

excited and passionate about. And the organization loves that because you're more likely to do it again. So I think it's to contact the organization and say ‘how can I help?’, listen to what they have to say, and then choose something that really speaks to you. I'd say that those are really the big do’s. I don't know if I have any don’ts because I think if you're doing the do’s, you’ll be doing the right thing.

dividuals that use Hope House are individuals who are either seniors who are now on fixed income, newcomers to Canada who are working, and young families where one parent has a job and the other parent is at home with the kids because daycare is very expensive. So they make up the vast majority of individuals that come into Hope House.

What are some common misconceptions about the people who use hope house services? How can we get rid of that stigma?

I think that the biggest common misconception is that the most people who are using the services of house are individuals who don't have homes or are precariously housed, so that means they're couchsurfing or they don’t have guaranteed housing, and they make up a small percentage but it's only about 5-10% of the individuals. But surprisingly, the vast majority of in-

I think one way to get rid of that stigma is by spending time at groups that are serving, available and open to the community, and really seeing who’s coming in. I think the other way is starting to listen to each other's stories. I haven't met a single person in my lifetime that hasn’t been able to tell me the time when their family exited poverty. Whether it was their grandmother creating such and such company or product and that was the beginning, or their dad was the first person in their family to get a university education and now he’s a computer tech guy doing something. Everybody can tell you that story. And I think it's important for us to remind ourselves that the story of people that we're seeing is our story too. Somewhere within our family we can find people who’ve experienced that and we've learned, and we love them and we care deeply for those people. So reminding ourselves that the individuals we're seeing that are struggling are somebody else’s family and they’re

loved and cared for is important. And when we remind ourselves of that, we realize that this isn't that unusual, and we remember how our family overcame it and know those individuals can overcome it too.

And finally, what does Hope House mean to you personally?

Hope House is where I get to live out my purpose in life and I just love that. So I really believe that my purpose is to make communities where people belong, where if they don't show up, people go looking for them. I get to create a space, and sup-

port people in creating a space where no matter who you are, we recognise the dignity in who you are as a person and we make space for you. And we really are happy to see you there and we miss you when you don’t come. And I don't know, if everyone can have that opportunity in life to do what they believe they're created to do, I just think that everyone would be so much happier. But I know not everybody gets that luxury and I know how incredibly rare that can be for some people, but I think everybody should seek it out because our world is meant for us to do the things that give us spark in life.

The sustainable gift guide for the holidays

Gifts that save the planet are so in this year

This year the holidays approached fast and furiously! If you are anything like me, gift panic is just beginning to settle in. With a tight student budget, options are few and far between. Now try to factor in environmentally friendly gift options.

With a huge agricultural presence, Guelph students are concerned about the planet and sustainability is a priority. This is well supported, the amount of waste accumulated over the winter holidays has reached a new level of insanity. In Canada alone, we generate 545,000 tonnes of waste, from shopping bags and gift wrapping according to Zero Waste Canada. This will have many negative consequences on our environment, we use unnecessary amounts of paper and packaging products.

This holiday season if you are

looking for a more sustainable, and budget friendly approach, check out the gift ideas below!!

Beeswax Wraps

Beeswax Wraps provide an excellent alternative to paper gift wrap. They are biodegradable, and can be composted. They're food safe, so they can be easily used to cover baked goods, or any other holiday treats!

Decorative Tote Bags

Plain tote bags are sold at many craft stores, Michaels sells them for $2.99 a bag. These make an awesome gift, and are easy to customize. Grab some fabric paint, embroidery thread, or markers, and decorate!

Popsicle Stick Coasters

This is a fun and practical gift

for tea and coffee drinkers alike. All you need for this easy craft are popsicle sticks, hot glue, and washi tape! Space your popsicle sticks three on the bottom, and then in the opposite direction layer and glue seven on the top. Make sure you decorate your top sticks with washi tape before you glue them down. It is as simple as that!

Stovetop Potpourri

Love candles, but looking for a natural alternative? Try Stovetop Potpourri! Fill a mason jar with cranberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange peel, and rosemary. To use, pour mix into boiling water on the stove. Turn down and simmer for as long as you want. An amazing smell will fill your home. It also comes with none of the plastic waste that store bought

candles have. This makes an excellent gift, your loved ones are sure to be thrilled!

If you’re into sustainability and saving the planet, definitely give these gifts a try!

Giftable goodies that are sweet for your mouth and budget

Edible presents offer a sweet affordable and fun alternative to store-bought gifts

THE ONTARION

From gingerbread, to chocolate chip cookies for Santa, the holidays are all about baked goods. We eat them, we make them, we gift them when we’re too poor to buy real presents.

If you’re looking for easy edible presents that will be a hit in your friends’ mouths and not a hit on your wallet, try some of these simple holiday recipes.

Easy

Shortbread

Recipe courtesy of Bigger Bolder Baking

Ingredients:

1 cup of softened butter

Half a cup of sifted powdered sugar 2 cups of all purpose flour

Step 1: Line a pan with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 350 F.

Step 2: Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Step 3: Add flour and mix until it forms a dough.

Step 4: Dust a counter with powdered sugar and roll out the dough on it.

Step 5: Cut into desired shapes and place dough on the baking sheet.

Step 6: Back for 18 to 20 minutes until cookies just begin to brown.

Pro tips: You can roll your dough into a log and let it chill in your fridge for three days for better cookies. You can also dip the shaped cookies

in different sprinkles for a fun effect!

Chocolate Truffles Recipe courtesy of Chocolate Covered Katie

Ingredients: 8 ounces of dark or semi-sweet chocolate

Half a cup of heavy cream A quarter of a teaspoon of vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

Step 1: Chop the chocolate super finely and heat up the cream until it just begins to boil Step 2: Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate. Add salt and vanilla. Stir until smooth.

Step 3: Refrigerate for at least two hours, or until it is firm.

Step 4: Scoop out portions and roll the mixture into balls.

Step 5: Roll truffles in cocoa powder, shredded coconut or sprinkles.

Step 6: Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pro tips: You can substitute the heavy cream in this recipe for coconut milk. You can also add in your own special flavours by adding things like the zest of an orange or peanut butter before step 3.

Peppermint Bark Recipe courtesy of Spend with Pennies

Ingredients: 8 ounces of dark chocolate, chopped fine 8 ounces of white chocolate, chopped fine Half a teaspoon of peppermint extract

Third of a cup of crushed up candy cane

Step 1: Line a baking pan with wax paper.

Step 2: Put the dark chocolate

in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Keep heating the chocolate in 15 second increments until it is nice and smooth.

Step 3: Stir in a quarter of a teaspoon of peppermint extract.

Step 4: Spread melted chocolate evenly across the pan. Set aside but do not put it in the fridge.

Step 5: Melt your white chocolate. Put it in a bowl and microwave it for 30 seconds. Stir. Keep heating the chocolate and stirring until desired consistency is reached.

Step 6: Stir the remaining peppermint extract and half of the candy cane bits into the white chocolate mixture.

Step 7: Gently spread the white chocolate over the dark chocolate mixture and sprinkle remaining candy cane bits on top.

Step 8: Allow bark to harden at room temperature. Break into pieces and enjoy.

Pro Tips: Do not refrigerate this while you’re making it as you want the chocolate to not be completely set before you pour on more layers.

6 hacks to up your gift-giving game

Try these simple hacks to make your presents more presentable!

Wrapping gifts can be intimidating. Luckily, there are tons of hacks you can use to help make your gifts stand out. Check out these tricks to let everyone around know you have insane wrapping skills and aren’t afraid to use them!

use a box from around the house, whether a shoebox, an Amazon package or that old iPad box you still have lying around from 2015. Plus, this hack can get you some laughs if your friend thinks you got them a new phone, or if you get them a boxed gag gift, they’ll think you got them something better!

2. Prettier than paper

use, such as fabric, newspaper, or even old sheet music! Although for newspaper wrapping we definitely suggest grabbing an extra copy of The Ontarion.

3. Bye-bye bows

a cookie cutter, trace out the design on your paper and cut it out! Then once decorated, punch a hole in the top, thread a ribbon through it and tie it onto your present. And there you go! That’s five less dollars you spent on wrapping supplies.

version of photoshop to make cards that have anything you want! You can make a cutesy collage, or actually photoshop your grandma being run over by a reindeer.

6.

Make it a game!

1. Box it up

This seems simple, but put your present in a box! Don’t try to wrap that odd-shaped present- instead,

Don’t have any wrapping paper, or just tired of buying so much wrapping paper for the holidays? Get creative with it! If you have multiple small items, wrap them in tissue paper and put them in a glass jar! Adding a bow on top, glueing gems or painting the jar can also spruce it up. Or, if you still want your friend or family member to have that destroying-all-your-beautiful-handiwork moment, there are also many alternate papers you can

Be interesting with your choice of present-topper! Instead of a bow, try an origami bow, flower, or even anevergreen tree branch. And instead of a ribbon, try yarn to give your present a bit of a homemade look. If you really want people to struggle with opening your present, use colourful duct tape and zip ties to wrap it up.

4. Cookie-cutter cards

Don’t buy that overpriced card from Walmart with the funny saying on the front, or simply slap a to/from sticker on the box. Instead, try making cookie cutter cards! Simply grab

5. Get Digital While on the topic of card-making, if you want to really personalise your card, try your hand at photoshop! You can use any free online

Have a little extra time? Make your present into a scavenger hunt! Wrap up several ‘fake’ presents, and put notes inside to give clues on how to get to the real present. You can make your family put in the work to get their presents this year, and hide the fakes all around the house.

There are so many ways to add unique touches to your wrapped gifts! Just remember that the holidays aren’t always about presents, it’s also about spending time with your loved ones… And having your family tell you you’re the best gift wrapper ever.

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Twelve days of celebrating the holidays in Guelph

From attending a local hockey game to walking along a snowy conservation trail, Guelph has amazing things to offer during the holiday season

December is a wonderful time of year. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season takes over as students prepare for holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and more. During this time, many might want to participate in the various holiday activities. Guelph has a variety of fun and affordable activities students can engage in!

this conservation area is bustling with it! From deer to owls, you can almost always see some cute critters on your hike. Feel free to observe them but ensure to not intervene in their own holiday activities!

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5. Guelph Covered Bridge - Speed River

If you’re in Guelph often, chances are you’ve seen the covered bridge, downtown by the Speed River.

Right behind the beloved Boat House, the covered bridge is an adorable wooden bridge that leads to the trails by the Speed River. At night, the bridge is lit up with wonderful colours, giving it a very Hallmark Holiday feel.

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1. Moe Hill Tobogganing

Looking for a place to get your winter thrill in? Look no further!

Guelph’s famous tobogganing hill, known to locals as ‘Moe Hill’ is by far the biggest and best hill to bring your sleds to. The hill is located off of Municipal Street just behind the Royal City Tennis Club, and is definitely a must-do during the winter season.

2. Skating Rink Downtown

Whether you’re a pro skater or just a beginner, the downtown skating rink is the perfect place to get your physical activity in. This adorable little skating rink can be found right outside of Guelph’s City Hall! Come by during the day or enjoy a nice lit up evening skate. Don’t have skates? No worries! Visit Play It Again Sports and grab yourself a used pair for some sliding and gliding fun!

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3. Build a Snowman on Johnston Green

A tradition that seems to be repeated yearly is building snowmen! However, as a University of Guelph student, the ideal place to practice this tradition in our very own Johnston Green! Grab your friends and make an entire snowman community!

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4. Walk in Hanlon Creek Conservation Area

The arboretum is well known for being a beautiful place to go for a walk, but if you’re looking to change things up, the Hanlon Creek Conservation area is an excellent way to get in touch with nature. There is a wide variety of trails, with different terrains. If you love wildlife,

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6. Hot Chocolate At Chocolats Favoris

Perhaps you’ve heard of Chocolats Favoris? Given the fact chocolate is in their name, it’s no wonder chocolate is their specialty! This store is known for their chocolate dipped ice cream in the summer, however in the winter, hot chocolate is the way to go! Add some marshmallows and warm up inside their cozy store or grab a box to go and make it at home.

painting your own creations right in store. Open until midnight most days, this is a fun activity to do at any time during the day. Make a holiday themed ornament to decorate your room or to give to a loved one as a fun DIY gift.

7. Gingerbread House Building - With The Grain

Want a fun activity for a night in?

Look no further! Grab your friends and head over to any grocery store to grab some gingerbread house building kits. For those looking to shop local, With The Grain bakery has gingerbread house kits available during the season. It’s an easy, fun, and delicious craft which you can do by yourself or with your friends. Most grocery store kits come with some base candies, but if you’re looking to level up, grab some of your own tasty treats and put a twist on your gingerbread house.

8. Play with Clay

Have your artistic juices been flowing? If you want a fun hands on activity head downtown Guelph to ‘Play with Clay’. Grab a kit to take home, or enjoy sculpting and

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9. Guelph Storm Game

For Sports Fans, watching a winter sport is a great way to keep the excitement going! Our very own OHL team the Guelph Storm never ceases to disappoint. Win or lose, it is a guarantee you’ll get a kick out of the game. The games offer a cheerful spirit, as well as fun raffles, contests, and general good times. Ensure that before or after the game, you check out the Old Quebec Street Mall connected right to the arena! With old style archtiecture and hanging string lights this is a lovely place to take some fun photos post game.

10. Stone Road Mall Santa Photos

Do you believe in magic? Get your fill by booking a Santa photo shoot with your friends. The Stone Road Mall invites a special guest from the North Pole each year to meet and greet Guelph’s residents! If you want to feel the magic of Christmas, this is a great way to get into the holiday spirit, making you feel like a kid again.

11. River Run Centre Christmas Shows

The River Run Centre is known for always putting on various concerts and theatrical shows! Despite being a little theatre, they’re production never fail to disappoint. During the holiday season you can catch many great shows to put you into the holiday spirit.

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12. Holiday Movie Marathon

Home Alone anyone? What better way to celebrate the holiday season than watching all your favourite holiday classics. Invite your friends, get dressed in your holiday pjs and relive your childhood.

How to deal with difficult family members during the holiday season

Following these easy rules can transform your holiday season into one free of toxic relatives and awkward conversations

The holidays can be a stressful time. With all the excitement, it's easy to forget the not-so-exciting factors that may occur with larger family gatherings. Whether it's extended or immediate, nobody likes to argue with family, especially not during such a peak time of the holiday season when we should be coming together to celebrate all the blessings in our lives.

or belligerent grandparent, they somehow know what to say to garner a negative reaction from you.

Combine that with the safety net of close friends and family and possibly the alcohol-induced chaos, it can really ruin your winter wonderland.

Below are some tips that help separate your heart from your head during the holiday season and make you enjoy the holidays a little bit more.

Don't get caught blind-sighted

If there is one thing you should know is that you can't control other people, but you can control how you react to them. Remembering that might be your saving grace this holiday season— pun intended.

rance or optimism blindsight you. For example, if you are already aware of an uncle's opposing political beliefs, don't try to change his mind.

Just prepare yourself and accept it for what it is. Not everyone will see things through your eyes because not everyone has walked through life the same way. As Tom McCallum said, "we are the sum total of our experiences."

those polarizing conversations. Remember that it is okay to have limitations, even with family.

Explaining and establishing a few topics that make you uncomfortable early on will allow everyone the opportunity to respect your boundaries and even set some of their own.

Set time aside for self-care All the preparation in the world won't always be enough to save you from the harsh realities of spending time with your family during the holidays. That's why it's essential to set aside time to focus on yourself.

Take a walk, or treat yourself to a massage because, hey, it is the season of giving. Why not give back to yourself?

you that can validate your feelings and ground you when you are dealing with difficult relatives could take a big weight off your shoulders.

If you don't have someone in your corner that can be there for you during the holidays, consider reaching out to a counsellor to help take a load of stress off your plate.

Regardless of who you spend the holidays with, the people closest to us can push buttons like nobody else. Whether that person is a persistent cousin, cynical friend,

Try to manage your expectations and don’t let yourself be caught off guard. Familiarize yourself with the idea that your family may have different beliefs from you. Regardless of how offputting it may be, don't let igno-

Don’t be afraid to have your boundaries

Doing your best to establish boundaries by putting potentially controversial topics off limits could immediately help avoid

Allow others to help you Don't feel shy to ask for help. Maybe you have a like-minded, trusted family member that can help back you out of a corner if need be. Having someone with

Whether you celebrate this holiday season or not, we all know how difficult it can be to deal with difficult relatives and friends. It's something that everyone experiences, whether you disagree on something trivial like which Christmas movie to watch first or something more polarizing like political beliefs; nobody likes to argue with family.

That said, the holidays are a tough time for everyone, and regardless of what anyone says, your feelings are valid.

To end on a positive note, as Eleanor Roosevelt said, "no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Has university become a pay-to-play game?

An open letter to professors about inequality and charging for software

A s the beginning of the Winter 2023 semester is approaching all too fast, students are once again beginning to ask themselves the age-old question: “Which textbooks should I purchase for my classes next semester?”

For some, this is a thoughtless decision. Yet for others who lack the ability to afford new textbooks each semester on top of what they pay for everything else in their lives, things can be a bit more complicated.

The financial burden placed on university students can often be a heavy weight to bear. With expenses like tuition, meal plan payments, and housing costs, it can be exceedingly difficult to afford all the necessities that come with living away from home–that is if you are lucky enough to have a home to go back to in the first place, or parents to support you financially.

Throughout my undergrad at UofG, I became increasingly confused about the costs of class materials and supplies. In my first year, I immediately knew that I would have to purchase used textbooks. It just wasn’t feasible for me to afford hundreds of dollars of new textbooks each semester. The prices alone were quite surprising to me, as I felt that free online resources often did a similar if not better job at explaining course material.

At this point, I realized that buying textbooks for each class was futile. I was simply going to purchase only the books that were absolutely necessary for my academic success.

Now for the classes in which I knew I absolutely needed the textbook, my plan was to purchase them on the used market.

For some courses, this was not an issue. For others however, things were a little trickier.

A surprisingly large number of my courses required the latest editions of textbooks, meaning that there were no used versions on the market. One could choose to purchase an outdated used version of the textbook. However, content was often missing, and the page numbers wouldn’t coincide with the new editions

making it hard to follow along in class.

Funny enough, a few of my professors wrote the textbooks we were expected to purchase, and re-released new editions often. Get that bag I guess.

But up until this point, buying textbooks was still a choice to be made. I could choose to take on the risk of missing content and make it up in alternative ways. I quickly found out that for some courses however, this was not the case.

Let’s look at a popular first year course, mandatory for all Bachelor of Commerce majors at UofG – Introductory Microeconomics, also known as ECON*1050. ECON*1050 makes use of a separate online learning platform called Pearson MyEconLab. For the Fall 2022 semester and for many semesters before it, quizzes completed on the MyEconLab platform accounts for between 10% and 12% of student’s final grades in the course.

MyEconLab is a paid service. Students must purchase a new copy of the $95.00 CAD textbook which comes with an online code that grants them access to the MyEconLab platform. This means that to not miss out on 12% of a final grade (a thought

that most first-years tremble with fear at), students must purchase the textbook new.

rolled student dollars have gone to the Pearson platform.

That also means this money has not gone into our own school resources, or back into our pockets to pay for the many other fees that come with being a university student. It is also important to note that the figure above does not account for commerce students who have already graduated.

When I was taking ECON*1050 I found MyEconLab quite useful when learning the course content. Alternative platforms are often wonderful ways to gain a better grasp of the course material – yet the point remains that this should be a recommended option, not a requisite purchase to complete a portion of one’s grade. In my opinion, that is absolutely ridiculous.

The Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics website claims that there are currently 3500+ students majoring in the commerce program. Because ECON*1050 is a mandatory course for all commerce majors, this means that well over $300,000 of our currently en-

So, this all begs an important question. The situation just described is one, single course. Of the thousands of other courses offered at the University of Guelph, grades behind paywalls are a common occurrence here at our university.

How many student dollars are being thrown away?

MyEconLab is just one of many external programs used by professors - iClicker? Paid. Top Hat? Paid. Whether it is $5, or $5,000, no student’s grade should be predicated on purchasing extra resources that are often arguably unnecessary. Ultimately this is a school, not a pay-to-play phone app with microtransactions riddled throughout. We already pay for the CourseLink platform. Use it, and make all other paid platforms optional.

A Month of Midnights

How Taylor Swift’s re-visits the past on her new album Midnights

On August 29th, Taylor Swift shocked fans with the announcement of her tenth studio album Midnights. Released a short two months later, the album broke both Spotify and Billboard records while earning Swift 10 number one songs.

On first hearing Midnights, I must admit I was a little disappointed. After back to back folk albums (Folklore and Evermore, both released in 2020), I was eager to hear her anticipated return to the familiar pop sound that paved Swift’s path to stardom.

I left the album alone for a day or two and then went back to it. Suddenly, it happened again. Songs I had originally dubbed mediocre I now couldn’t get enough of, just as it had happened with her folk albums not long before.

Soon, I could find personal connections to the metaphoric lyrics and romantic imagery of

songs like Sweet Nothing and Snow on the Beach feat. Lana Del Rey. I sang along to Anti-Hero and agreed that maybe “I’m the problem” after all.

As a self-proclaimed “swiftie” for the better part of a decade, there’s no denying that her music has helped me navigate many of life’s complicated feelings. Every two years she’d release a new album and I knew that I could listen to the delicate musings of someone who is also trying to figure things out.

Swift’s extensive discography explores what it means to fall in and out of love, to find beauty in the remnants of failure, and perhaps most importantly, how to pick yourself up again. These themes, while important on their own, are made so much more personal when retold through her knack for storytelling.

This is what makes Midnights

so compelling. Born out of the idea that overwhelming feelings can keep you up at night, Swift’s new album exists as a mosaic of former flames, forgotten feelings, and a return to past versions of her career.

You’re on Your Own Kid, echoes this sentiment by exploring the arch of her career in its entirety. Its powerful premise seems to hint that after the pitfalls of her somewhat tumultuous career, she can stand firm in knowing she has herself and maybe that’s enough.

The 3 am version of the album is where Swift positions her concept of sleepless nights against more bitter themes.

Maroon is a moody nod to her album Red, where she scrutinizes a toxic relationship for being darker than she’d realized before.

Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve does the same, but insteads speaks

to the haunting regrets of a relationship with an imbalanced power dynamic during her Speak Now album.

Swift is a master of reinvention. She has shown the world time and time again that she is

both a versatile and resilient force in the music industry. However, this album is not about reinvention but rather understanding that each version of yourself comes with its own lessons, heartaches, and triumphs.

FUN PAGES

PETS OF THE MONTH

Meet Truffel!

Breed: Shih Tzu

Photo by: Piya Parmar Age: 9

Fun Fact: He loves to roll in the grass, even when wet!

Meet Essie!

Breed: Black & White Tabby

Photo by: Mona Li Age: 8

Fun Fact: "Cattitude" Princess Essie isn't too proud to beg for treats

Meet Keera!

Breed: Chocolate Labrador

Photo by: Sydney McKichan Age: 9

Fun Fact: Keera likes to paddle board in the summer

DECEMBER TO-DO LIST

DEC. 1

Take A Paws

• 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. John Eccles Centre

Yoga with Thrive

• 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

• AC 302

Cookie Crafting

• 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

• University Centre

DEC. 2

An evening with HAYDEN

• 8:00 p.m.

• Royal City Mission

Guelph Storm Hockey Game

Sleeman Centre

Visit tickets.guelphstorm.com for more information

• Also on Dec 9, 11, 16, 17 & 30

DEC. 3

DAX live in Guelph

• 8:00 p.m.

• ONYX Nightclub

DEC. 4

Intuituve Drag Show

• 6:30 p.m.

The Round Table Board Game Cafe

Canine Christmas Parade at Yorklands Green Hub

• 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

• Yorklands Green Hub

DEC. 5

Beeswax wraps at the Beer Hall

• 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

• Royal City Brewing Co.

DEC. 6

Drop-in Chess League

• 6:00 p.m.

• Snakes & Lattes

DEC. 7

O Christmas Tea: A British Comedy

• 7:30 p.m.

• River Run Centre

Visit riverrun.ca to buy tickets

DEC. 8

Learn to fold with the Origami Club 5:00 p.m. UC 225 (Tentative)

DEC. 9

The Good The Bad The Ugly Sweater - Comedy Night

• 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

• ONYX Nightclub

Jennifer Castle Performs at The Common

• 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

• 28 Wilson St.

Community Canvases

• 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

• The Cornerstone

Mud Monster - Eoscene - The Lookout Service

• 11:00 p.m.

• Jimmy Jazz

DEC. 10

Home for the Holidays Drag Show

• Peter Clark Hall

Kronik Kristmas 2022 7:00 p.m.

• Red Papaya Thai & Grill

DEC. 11

Coolest Christmas Market

• Spring Mill Distillery

• Purchase tickets at eventbrite

DEC. 13

Drop-in Chess League

• 6:00 p.m.

• Snakes & Lattes

DEC. 14

Blues Open Mic

• 8:30 p.m.

• Royal City Studios

DEC. 15

The Ward Night Market

• 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

• St. Mary's Ukranian Church

Drop-In Recreational Skating 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

• Gryphon Centre Arena

DEC. 17

Guelph Spoken Word Live 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. The Cornerstone

Feminist Market

• 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

• Peter Clark Hall

December Party 9:00 p.m. TABU Nightclub

DEC. 20

Drop-in Chess League

• 6:00 p.m.

• Snakes & Lattes

CROSSWORD

Across 1- Slant 5- Knuckleheads 10- Toboggan, eg. 14- Opera song 15- Pop singer LaBelle 16- Old Italian currency 17- Teri of "Tootsie" 18- Automated 20- Fortune tellers 22- That's the spot! 23- Cooking measure 24- Prize 26- Schlep 27- Panhandlers, collectively 30- Not blind 34- Pesters 35- World's longest river 36- Prefix with skeleton 37- Actor Connery

Hardware fastener

Bark up the wrong tree

___ about (roughly)

Conditional release

Porpoise

Abilities

___ Paulo

Loses color

Show contempt

Kenan's comedy partner

Hawke of "Reality Bites"

Down 1- Price indicators 2- Dies ___ 3- Italian bread? 4- Seasoning plant 5- Imitate 6- Payment for regular work 7- Lieu 8- Engrave with acid 9- Obedience school command 10- Swamp 11- Waterfall 12- ___ the Red 13- Fresh-water fish 19- Red cosmetic 21- Swing to and fro 25- Hall of fame 26- Frog's perch 27- Stationed 28- Diciembre follower 29- Knot 30- Transgression 31- Dovetail part 32- Rejoice 33- Spoils, with "on" 35- ___'easter 39- ___ appétit! 40- Table supports 42- Scarlett of fiction 44- Toward the sheltered side 46- Pretended 47- "Unto the Sons" author 49- One in utero 50- Shaker contents 51- Tenn. neighbor 52- Prefix with distant 53- Door handle 55- Detest 56- Get in on a deal 57- Half-moon tide

University Centre Room 264 University of Guelph N1G 2W1 ontarion@uoguelph.ca

519-824-4120 Editorial: x 58250 Advertising: x 58267 Accounts: x 53534

BOB'S DOGS CROSSWORD CONTEST

For your chance to win two Bobs dog’s and two pops, just complete the crossword, snap a picture, and send it to puzzles@theontarion.com by December 9th at 3 p.m. Winners and anyone else who fills in the crossword correctly are announced in each issue. Winners can arrange a pickup of their voucher by emailing the same address.

Last issue’s winning puzzle was submitted by Breah Snow!

We also received correct submissions from Sam Elliot, Hannah Abush, and Thomas Smith. Better luck next time!

first publication on all material. In the event that an advertiser is not satisfied with an advertisement in the newspaper, they must notify The Ontarion within four working days of publication. The Ontarion will not be held responsible for advertising mistakes beyond the cost of advertisement. The Ontarion is printed by Metroland.

SUDOKU

Fill in the empty squares so that each of the digits 1 through 9 appear once in each row, column, and 3-by-3 block.